BROOKLYN, Ohio - The exploration between Brooklyn and the Brooklyn City Schools regarding the proposed Hurricane Alley Athletic Complex -- a shared partnership of athletic fields throughout the city and district -- continued last week with a public discussion at City Hall.

Brooklyn Mayor Katie Gallagher

Also in attendance was Behnke Landscape Architects, which brought in maps and sought opinions from city leaders while also hearing about current issues and future field needs.

"It was very optimistic to hear the Board of Education, City Council and the public were really open to kind of imagining something big," Mayor Katie Gallagher said. "The only thing that was a definitive about the project was the football field wasn't moving.

"So everyone kind of looked at it as a blank canvas to imagine something great. Then we can kind of talk about what would work financially for us as far as giving the services to the residents and the students," Gallagher said.

"I'm proud of our Board of Education, as they see the ability for the district to provide some field facilities for our teams and support groups that we were unable to do so with our bond issue work," Gleichauf said.

"It's energizing to talk with an architect who can provide some renderings to our vision of creating an area that could become a recreational centerpiece for the Brooklyn community for a long time," he said.

Cleveland-based Behnke Landscape Architects is being paid $7,500 to create three different concepts for the Hurricane Alley Athletic Complex, which includes more than 41 acres of district land and 27 acres of the contiguous city-owned Veterans Memorial Park.

"Another highlight from the meeting was everyone saw this as a place to not only gather families, but also kind of a way to connect our already existing park trails," Gallagher said.

Currently on the table are a baseball field, softball field and a few all-purpose fields for soccer, football and marching band practices, as well as other activities including summer day camps.

"We're just making sure we have a good green space to accommodate all of that and adequate parking, restrooms,'' Gallagher said. "Right now, we have to rent porta-potties where we have our soccer practice.

"It would be wonderful to have a standing restroom with a concession stand and pavilion so it can really be this gathering place," she said.

Behnke officials will be presenting City Council and the Board of Education their concepts in a month. That's the point when Gallagher said cost and funding for the Hurricane Alley Athletic Complex will be discussed.

The mayor stressed that the project will not require new money from residents.

Right off the bat, she estimated roughly $10,000 in engineering costs to examine the transformation of Hurricane Alley into a city-dedicated road.

"We'll have to start the basic conversation about funding," Gallagher said. "Also, at this point the school owns the property. Does the city take over that land in the future? That will be one of the questions."